News &
Updates

To view our archived Bulletins, click on a date below.

April 2021

NERC’s Advisory Members

Distinguished Benefactors

Benefactors

Sustaining Members

A list of all the logos of our Sustaining Members can be found under Advisory Members

New & Renewing Members

Renewing Benefactors

New Sustaining Members

Renewing Sustaining Member

New Supporting Member

Town of Bedford, Massachusetts

Renewing Supporting Members

Member Spotlight - the Coca-Cola Company

NERC News

Newly Posted

Advisory Member Updates

Of General Interest

Washington State Recycling Association’s 2021 Virtual Conference & Trade Show: Sunny Days Ahead

New & Renewing Memberships

Membership is key to NERC's regional and national commitment to sustainable materials management. 2021 continues as a dynamic time with several new members, along with a great show of support by renewing members.

We sincerely thank our renewing Benefactors - Panasonic and Waste Management, as well as new Sustaining Members AMP Robotics and Revolution. In addition, we thank renewing Sustaining Member MRM.

In further membership activity, we have a new Supporting Member - the Town of Bedford, Massachusetts, as well as renewing Supporting Members the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP) and Quantum Biopower.

To see a complete listing of NERC's Members and Supporters, as well as the benefits of membership, visit the NERC Advisory Membership web page.

Member Spotlight - the Coca-Cola Company

One of the most recognized brands in the world, new NERC Advisory Coca Cola logo Member The Coca-Cola Company provides more than 200 brands worldwide – from Coca-Cola to smartwater – while employing more than 700,000 people in the company and its associated bottling plants.

Of course, with such a towering global presence comes great responsibilities, and The Coca-Cola Company emphasizes its commitments to sustainability in its Business and Sustainability Report. The company’s commitments encompass the gamut of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, up to and including measuring its progress according to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among the company’s many sustainability commitments is its World Without Waste initiative, launched in 2018. The company envisions a future where all plastic bottles and aluminum cans are continuously recycled in a circular ecosystem and is focused on three primary goals:

1. To collect and recycle the equivalent of a bottle or can for every one the company sells by 2030

2. To make 100% of packaging recyclable by 2025

3. To use 50% recycled material in bottles and cans by 2030

Just last month, The Coca-Cola Company announced in the United States the introduction of a new 13.2 oz bottle made from 100% recycled plastic material (rPET), rolling out first in bottles from its biggest and most iconic brand: Coca-Cola®. The company also announced the transition to bottles made from 100% recycled plastic material across a selection of brands in the portfolio, including DASANI and smartwater available in various package sizes this year.

The company views these moves as a substantial step in addressing plastic waste, reducing the company’s use of new plastic by more than 20% across the portfolio compared to 2018.

“As we strive to reach our circular economy goals, we see NERC as a critical partner and convener of those who want to move the dialogue on packaging sustainability and recycling challenges forward,” said Lauren Craig, Director of Public Affairs & Communications for The Coca-Cola Company.

The company is also part of the “Every Bottle Back” initiative, through which America’s leading beverage companies have partnered with NERC Advisory Member The Recycling Partnership, Closed Loop Partners and World Wildlife Fund in the U.S., creating a $100 million fund to reclaim more plastic bottles so they can be remade into new bottles.

Other important environmental commitments made by The Coca-Cola Company include the promise to return 100% of the water the company uses to make its drinks. The company continuously regenerates more water than it uses annually. Coca-Cola also reports that it is well on its way to meeting goals for reducing its carbon footprint.

NERC welcomes the opportunity to partner with such an influential Advisory Member, and looks forward to collaborating on issues that will better protect the environment for generations to come.

NERC NewsSpring Conference—Reframing Recycling in 2021—A Resounding Success

Presenters and attendees from 27 states, the District of Columbia, three Canadian Provinces, and Germany participated in NERC’s Spring Conference on March 30 – 31. The two-day virtual event included informative presentations and lively discussions by all. The Keynote Panel on Day One, with Peter Hargreave, President of Policy Integrity Inc., Sara-Emmanuelle Dubois, President & Founder of NovAxia Inc, and Pierre Benabidès, Senior Consultant of Lichens Recyclability kicked off the Conference with insights into the Canadian experience of understanding and choosing the right EPR model.

The Conference continued with session about minimum recycled content legislation; rPET markets; secondary sorting; compostable packaging; refillable containers; and existing EPR programs for paint, mattresses, and electronics.

Other presenters included:

Dan Felton, Executive Director, Ameripen
Elizabeth Balkan, Director of Reloop North America, Reloop Platform
Heidi Sanborn, Executive Director, National Stewardship Action Council
Alasdair K. Carmichael, Program Director, NAPCOR
Kim Holmes, Owner & Principal Consultant, 4R Sustainability
Scott Farling, VP of Business Development and Research, Titus MRF Services
Olga Kachook, Senior Manager, Sustainable Packaging Coalition
Nora Goldstein, Editor, BioCycle CONNECT
Carla Castagnero, President, Agrecycle
Caren McNamara, Founder/CEO, Conscious Container
Jules Bailey, Chief Stewardship Officer, Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative
Tobias Bielenstein, Chief Operating Officer, Refillable Working Group Germany (Arbeitskreis Mehrweg GbR)
Marie Clarke, VP of Policy and Government Affairs, Mattress Recycling Council
Laura Honis, Connecticut and Rhode Island Programs Manager, PaintCare
John Hurd, Vermont and Maine Program Manager, PaintCare
Jason Linnell, Executive Director, National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER)

Speaker bios and Conference presentations are available in NERC’s Conference Archives. The Conference Virtual Sponsor Exhibit Hall is full of resources to download and will be available through December 31.

For more information about NERC’s events, contact Mary Ann Remolador, Assistant Director and Event Organizer.

Save the Date for NERC’s Fall ’21 Conference

NERC will hold its Fall ’21 Conference virtually on October 12 – 13, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. (eastern) each day. Please mark your calendar now to save the dates. More details will become available in the coming months.

Conference Organizer: Mary Ann Remolador.

NERC Launches Next Generation Scholarship Fund

The NERC Fall 2020 Conference featured a plenary session on racial justice in the recycling industry. This conversation opened the door to NERC’s engagement in the complex and challenging topics of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). NERC believes that by embracing and supporting DEI, we will most effectively achieve our mission to minimize waste, conserve natural resources, and advance a sustainable economy through facilitated collaboration and action.

NERC has launched the Next Generation Scholarship Fund to support DEI and to introduce scholars to the topics of sustainable materials management featured at NERC’s Conferences. Scholarships will be awarded to select students interested in attending NERC’s Conferences and learning about the recycling industry.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of NERC’s Next Generation Scholarship Fund, please contact Mary Ann Remolador, or call: 802-451-8852.

Upcoming NERC Webinars - Toxics & Lithium Batteries

Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse (TPCH) Update to Model Legislation, April 28 (date change), noon eastern

Lithium Battery Webinar Series - May 18 & 25, 1 eastern

The series is organized by NEWMOA & NERC in partnership with the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) New England Chapter, MassRecycle, & the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA)

Overview of Lithium Batteries, Their Uses, & Recycling - May 18

Presenters:

George Kerchner – The Rechargeable Battery Association: A 30 Year Evolution of Lithium Battery Applications, Chemistries, & Form Factors
- Types of lithium batteries & chemistries
- Uses of batteries
- Advantages and disadvantages
- Fire code for storage
Eric Fredrickson, Call2Recycle: Lithium Ion Battery Recycling, Challenges & Opportunities
- Call2Recycle Program
- Battery recycling
- Education & outreach – consumers & organizations
Kirk Sander, National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA): NWRA/ISRI/SWANA Managing Lithium Batteries Recommended Practices
- Best management practices for solid waste, recycling, and hauling to avoid fires
- Fire safety – containing fires and OSHA regulations

Reducing the Risk of Fires Associated with Lithium Batteries - May 25

Presenters:

Kevin Roche, ecomaine: Early Detection & Rapid Response Measures to Reduce Fire Risks
Marc Morgan, Solid Waste Manager, City of Lebanon: Transfer Station & Landfill in Lebanon, NH: Effective Responses to Fires & Best Practices in Educating Residents About Lithium Batteries
Marc Buckley, Republic Services: Strategies that Haulers Can Deploy to Reduce Risk of Fires from Li-Ion Batteries

All webinars are free.

CEU credit available from NJ Rutgers, NH DES, and PROP

NERC Forms Bottle Bill & Organics End-Markets Committees

This winter the NERC Board received suggestions for two new committees. The topics are bottle bills and organics end-markets. At the March Board of Directors meeting, it was determined to form these committees. Membership will be open to NERC Board members and agency staff, and Advisory Members. Lynn Rubinstein, Executive Director, will staff both committees.

The committees are currently forming and their scope of interest will be clarified once the committees start meeting, but it is anticipated that the focus will be:

Bottle Bills: The committee will provide an opportunity for information exchange, updates on efforts to improve/expand bottle bills, the nexus between EPR and bottle bills and issues this may present, as well as other related topics. The committee will not be developing model legislation nor advocating on behalf of NERC for any specific position.

Organics End-Markets: How to support and drive end-markets for organics (infrastructure and selling of compost/finished products) in the region.

If you're interested in participating in either committee and are an Advisory Member, please contact Lynn Rubinstein.

State Electronics Challenge Annual Awards & Environmental Results

Congratulations to the 24 State Electronics Challenge (SEC) Partners that submitted annual reporting data and received individualized sustainability reports. Fifteen (15) of those Partners are being recognized for their achievements with awards.

Calendar Year 2020 Partner Environmental Benefits

	Purchasing EPEAT^®Products & Paper Use Reduction	Use	Reuse & Recycling	TOTAL BENEFITS
Reduction In	How Much?			How Much?	Equivalent To
Energy use	15,351,944 kWh	93,751,825 kWh	18,283,532 kWh	127,387,302 kWh	Electricity to power 10,486 U.S. households/ year
Greenhouse gas emissions	3,466,568,509 metric tons of carbon equivalents	20,629,970 metric tons of carbon equivalents	1,120,697 metric tons of carbon equivalent	3,487,959,176 metric tons of carbon equivalents	Removing 746,886 cars from the road/year
Toxic materials, including lead & mercury	5,425 lbs.	18,263 lbs.	36 lbs.	23,724 lbs.	Weight of 10,426 bricks
Municipal solid waste	59,784,418 lbs.	16,486,160 lbs.	1,034,793 lbs.	77,305,371 lbs.	Waste generated by 41,562 households annually
Hazardous waste	0 lbs.	7,753 lbs.	152,023 lbs.	159,776 lbs.	Weight of 1,320 refrigerators
Material Conservation	6,590 lbs.	313,744 lbs.	305 lbs.	340,639 lbs.	Weight of 757 grand pianos

Calendar Year 2020 Award Winners

SEC Partner	Recognition	Lifecycle Phases
Borough of State College, Pennsylvania	Gold	Purchasing, Use, & End-of-Life Management
Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority, Pennsylvania	Gold	Purchasing, Use, & End-of-Life Management
City of Corvallis, Oregon	Gold	Purchasing, Use, & End-of-Life Management
City of Fort Collins, Colorado	Gold	Purchasing, Use, & End-of-Life Management
City of Providence School Department, Rhode Island	Gold	Purchasing, Use, & End-of-Life Management
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)	Gold	Purchasing, Use, & End-of-Life Management
Ball State University, Indiana	Silver	Purchasing & End-of-Life Management
City of La Crosse, Wisconsin	Silver	Purchasing & End-of-Life Management
City of Columbia, South Carolina	Silver	Purchasing & End-of-Life Management
City of Keene, New Hampshire	Silver	Purchasing & Use
State of Maryland	Silver	Purchasing & End-of-Life Management
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources	Silver	Purchasing & End-of-Life Management
City of Durango, Colorado	Bronze	Purchasing
Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania	Bronze	Purchasing

Previous award winners are listed on the State Electronics Challenge website. For more information about the State Electronics Challenge, contact Lynn Rubinstein.

Newly Posted

NERC Conference Presentations & Sponsor Exhibit Hall Available

For more information about NERC’s events, contact Mary Ann Remolador, Assistant Director and Event Organizer.

Plastic Film Recycling & End-Markets Webinar Recording, Presentations, & Handouts

NERC Bylaws Revised

At its recent Board of Directors Meeting, NERC revised its bylaws to extend the term of office for Ex Officio Board members from one year to two years.

Advisory Member News

USA Hauling & Recycling & All American Waste Named As 2021 Best Places to Work in Connecticut

USA Hauling & Recycling, Inc and, All American Waste, LLC have been named to the 2021 Best Places to Work in Connecticut list by the Hartford Business Journal.

“We are truly honored that USA Hauling & Recycling and All American Waste have been named to this prestigious list of best places to work in Connecticut. This award would not be possible without the dedication of our incredible employees. As a family owned business, we pride ourselves on treating each and every member of our team as a part of our extended family. We strive to ensure this commitment is reflected in the service we provide to cities and towns across Connecticut. We are grateful to these communities and our employees for the trust they place in us every day,” said Frank M. Antonacci, COO of USA Hauling and All American Waste.

The survey and awards program, which was created by the Hartford Business Journal and Best Companies Group, is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary this year. The program is designed to identify, recognize, and honor the best employers in Connecticut, benefiting the state's economy, workforce, and businesses. The list is made up of 31 companies split into two categories: 18 small/medium-sized companies (15-199 US employees) and 13 large-sized companies (200 or more US employees). USA Hauling & Recycling and All American Waste were named one the best employers in Connecticut among large-sized companies.

Founded in 1974, USA Hauling & Recycling and All American Waste are part of a family-owned and operated team of subsidiaries and affiliates that have become one of the most reliable and innovative independent recycling and waste management companies in New England. The companies service much of Connecticut and western Massachusetts and proudly employ dedicated team members across the both states. Headquartered in Enfield, Connecticut the companies and their affiliates own and operate facilities in Bridgeport, Stratford, New Haven, Middletown, Berlin, Waterbury, New Milford, Torrington, Winchester, Hartford, East Windsor, South Windsor, Suffield and Windsor Locks.

To be considered for participation, companies had to fulfill the following eligibility requirements:

Be a for-profit, not-for-profit business or government entity;
e a publicly or privately held business;
Have a facility in Connecticut;
Have at least 15 employees in Connecticut;
Be in business a minimum of 1 year.

Companies from across the state entered the two-part survey process to determine the Best Places to Work in Connecticut. The first part consisted of evaluating each company's workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems, and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process in Connecticut, analyzed the data, and determined the final rankings.

The ranked companies will were recognized at a special awards ceremony and results published in the February 22^nd issue of the Hartford Business Journal.

View the video announcement of the award here: https://youtu.be/I4t4j90w7eE

CSWD Receives Call2Recycle’s 2020 Top 100 Leader in Sustainability Award

The Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD), Vermont, is pleased to announce recognition by Call2Recycle as a 2020 Top 100 Leader in Sustainability. The Leader in Sustainability award is given out annually to top performing Call2Recycle program participants who excel with their battery recycling efforts. This is the sixth year CSWD has received the Leader in Sustainability recognition.

CSWD's commitment to battery recycling, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, contributed to more than 8.4 million pounds of consumer batteries collected and recycled through Call2Recycle nationally–a program milestone. CSWD collected 33,821 pounds of batteries for recycling from July 2019 through June 2020 at six Drop-Off Center locations and the Environmental Depot.

“The last year presented unimaginable global, national and local challenges to almost every industry, including battery recycling,” said Leo Raudys, CEO & President of Call2Recycle, Inc. “In the face of uncertainty, we witnessed the tenacity and passion of partners like CSWD who continued their involvement with the Call2Recycle program. We thank CSWD for their ardent support and are proud to list them as a 2020 Leader in Sustainability.”

Call2Recycle is recognizing CSWD for their commitment to battery recycling by donating a tree to the National Forest Foundation’s ‘50 Million for Our Forests’ campaign.

"CSWD is grateful for the commitment our community and staff have demonstrated since 1994 when we first began collecting batteries for recycling," said CSWD Executive Director Sarah Reeves. "Since then, our collective efforts have kept 259,455 pounds of batteries out of the landfill."

To find out all the details about how and where to recycle your batteries in Chittenden County as well as locations across Vermont, visit CSWD's website A-Z entry on batteries.

Of General Interest

Washington State Recycling Association’s 2021 Virtual Conference & Trade Show: Sunny Days Ahead

Join us May 24 & 25, 2021 for WSRA's second virtual conference, wherever you find your sun!

WSRA’s 2021 Conference and Trade Show will focus on bringing members and conference attendees quality content with increased networking opportunities to make their experience feel more like the real thing. We understand that everyone is experiencing Zoom Fatigue, so our 2021 Conference will be two half days of content and networking where we will focus only on the topics we feel recycling and waste management professionals will benefit most from. We are pursuing the following session topics to create the most engaging sessions and discussions:

Including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Outreach and Education
Understanding LCAs and similar tools and how to utilize them locally
Getting back to Reduce and Reuse
Networking sessions to encourage open dialogs on Policy, Outreach and Education strategies, and DEI
Exhibitor Speed Networking